Not too long ago, I saw a video on social media from a parent saying that they were a good parent, that quote “i made sure they had a roof over their head and that they got their degree’. After a few days of thinking on it, I had the idea of this post

You can’t tell at eighteen years on the dot whether you succeed as a parent. I think that is when being a parent is no longer your LEGAL responsibility, but it does not mean you did a good job just because they didn’t die or dropout of school. Too many parents think they are supposed to check off items on a list, and if you got all of the checks marked off then you ‘succeeded’. Sadly that is not how it works; it would be easier if that WAS how it worked.

The fact of the matter is, no one can say for sure if you did a good job until your child dies. Your job as a parent is to prepare your child to be a good adult. Not to be an adult, but to be a GOOD adult. Just making it to eighteen years old is not enough.

A parent should be teaching their child to ask questions and find answers, not just how to pass a test. A parent should teach their child how to stand up for others, not just survive. At eighteen years old your child should not only know how to do adult things like paying attention to the news, doing taxes, laundry, and dishes, and keeping down a job; at eighteen your child should know how to be inquisitive and thorough, they should know that keeping a clean house is not just a chore but that it helps make a proper place to think and live, and they should know that quitting a job can sometimes be better for their family then having to do something that goes against their morals.

Sadly, making it to eighteen is not an end goal. Eighteen is the starting line. How well your child does in that race is what will show the world if you did a good job preparing them or not